Under chair and CEO Mary Barra, General Motors is focusing on emerging technologies — like the self-driving car, mobility apps and an autonomous fuel cell electric platform – innovations that will not only transform the company, but also the industry.
The Detroit automaker in January filed a safety petition with the Department of Transportation for its fourth-generation self-driving Cruise AV, the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls.
GM also now offers Maven, a personal mobility app for on-demand GM car rentals. Maven Home provides on-site car sharing for residential communities; Maven City offers vehicles with dedicated parking spots for easy city driving, available by the hour, day, week or month with gas included; and Maven Gig allows members to earn money on their own terms by providing a vehicle that can be used to deliver goods or transport people.
Under Barra, GM “has built, partnered, and acquired everything it needs to be a significant player in such a vision of the future of transportation,” says Fast Company, which named GM as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2018.
But that’s not all: GM aims to solve some of the toughest transportation challenges created by natural disasters, complex logistics environments and global conflicts. The company’s Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure (SURUS), leverages GM’s newest Hydrotec fuel cell system, autonomous capability and truck chassis components to deliver high-performance, zero-emission propulsion to minimize logistical burdens and reduce human exposure to harm.
Fuel cell technology offers a solution that can scale to larger vehicles with large payload requirements and operate over longer distances. The SURUS platform is equally well-suited for adaptation to military environments.
GM has also been streamlining its operations, including selling its Opel/Vauxhall subsidiary and GM Financial’s European operations to the PSA Group. In announcing the deal last March, Barra said the sale would free up human and cash resources so that GM could focus on initiatives to “transform the company.”
“We are reshaping our company and delivering consistent, record results for our owners through disciplined capital allocation to our higher-return investments in our core automotive business and in new technologies that are enabling us to lead the future of personal mobility,” she said.
The first woman to serve as CEO of a major automaker, Barra has been ranked No. 1 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list for the past three years.
She is the daughter of a retired blue-collar GM veteran and herself a one-time “factory rat” who started working at a GM plant as a student, according to a NBC News profile. Barra’s style, according to insiders, is more “the consummate coach” than micro-manager. One GM colleague says that Barra “encourages the team members she trusts to make a case for what they believe needs to be done.”
She’s No. 8 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies.
Headquarters: Detroit, MI
Age: 56
Undergraduate degree: Kettering University
Graduate degree: Stanford Graduate School of Business
First position with company: Cooperative education student
First joined company: 1980
Named CEO: 2014
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
